The Cutting Board
2929 Goose Creek Road, 423-9950
Thankfully, the fusion wave many chefs rode a few years back has toned down to a simmer. Simple, authentic dishes are in ascendance, and chefs who enjoy dabbling with a multitude of ingredients are often finding other ways to express themselves. Such is the case at the recently expanded Cutting Board, located near the junction of Goose Creek and Westport roads. This former cafe that has grown from 50 seats to 150 doesn’t prepare fusion dishes, per se; instead, it offers an around-the-world concept. The emphasis is on Italian and Mediterranean influences — traditional Italian Tuscan carbonara and Greek saganaki (flamed tableside) exhibit this thrust — but the restaurant also travels to Asia (Beijing chicken dumpling and Oahau chicken) and even Germany (jagerschnitzel). You’ll find mango and hoisin along with orzo and aioli. You can tell the kitchen has fun preparing the dishes.
Ensconced since October in a former Hungry Pelican, with many of the renovations done by the owners themselves, the Cutting Board features an open kitchen, large bar and sizable dining area with cherry-colored wood tables and chairs and prints of Northern Italian country scenes hanging from the rough plaster walls. Jazz musicians perform on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Panini and other staples from the original cafe’s menu remain, but now they share space with a wide range of appetizers and entrees.
The artichoke roasted red pepper dip ($8) initially caught my eye. It resembled Cheez Whiz in color and consistency, but tasted better. The warm goat cheese-based dip maintained a whipped, creamy texture, with hints of black and red pepper in each bite. However, I didn’t notice any significant artichoke taste. It was served with toasted pita points and crusty bread.
Islamaroda chicken ($17) was a pan-seared chicken breast covered with chunks of lump crab, sliced avocado and melted mozzarella. This all sat atop a golden potato pancake. The chicken was juicy and richened by the overlay of crab and cheese. (There was no skimping on the luscious crabmeat, either.) I’m not sure what the avocado added to the dish, but I didn’t mind it. My husband loved the potato cake, probably for the same reason I didn’t. Chunks of bacon mingled with the shredded potato, and I’m not a fan of the
sizzling stuff.
My husband’s pan-seared Tobago grouper ($16) was dredged in Japanese breadcrumbs and paired with sauteed mango, zucchini, tomato, red pepper, red onion and garlic. A sweet chili Chardonnay sauce adorned the fish and veggies, while grilled tortilla wedges sat along the plate’s edge, creating an attractive melange of colors. The vegetable medley maintained a spicy kick, which was calmed down by the sweet mango chunks, though the fillet seemed to lack enough seasoning to balance with the rest of the dish. The sweet chili sauce and tortillas stood out more favorably. The sauce reminded me of a Chinese duck sauce, but spicier, with its sweet, honey-like flavor and thick texture — great for dunking those tortilla chips.
The Cutting Board offered a very reasonable lunch combo ($7 or $9) that included a choice of panini (from a list of six) and small house or Caesar salad or cup of soup. I chose the Asian salmon panini and house salad. The salmon "sandwich" worked well, in part, because of the honey-ginger-hoisin aioli that dressed it. This thick, sweet sauce complemented the grilled teriyaki-glazed salmon, which also found itself in company with melted provolone cheese, diced tomato and red pepper, and thin red onion between two ciabatta slices. The ingredients were pressed together Italian-style. This toasted sandwich was stuffed full, but not overwhelmingly so. And it pleases me to know that they haven’t thrown the panini out with the bathwater in making the transition to new digs three times the size of the old.
